For this reason, governments of all ages all over the world set up institutions to educate and empower her citizens with the knowledge of this weapon and we have been seeing trailblazers representing their nations in different fields and this we applaud.

We celebrate names like Chinua Achebe, Ahmadu Bello, Wole Soyinka and the list goes on because they mastered this weapon and made good use of it to silence mediocrity, failure and defeated the ignorance of their days that kept men down and they rose against all odds.

 These men are among the notable Nigerians today recognized all over the world for their power and influence.

Fast forward years later this educational system that raise boys into men and made champions out of people who society would easily give up on began to crumble due to bad leadership and corruption in hallowed chambers of our Nation. 

To that effect, there was a need for an association that would help support the system and this need gave birth to what we today know as ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities)

The tension however is the failure of the Government and this Union to agree as ASUU have embarked on 16 strikes in 23 years crippling academic activities in all our campuses and forcing students out of school. 

On a Monday, February 14, 2022, the Academic Staff Union of Universities embarked on a 2 weeks warning strike. What was announced as a “warning strike” has turned into an indefinite suffocating strike lasting for almost 6months now with no hope of being called off anytime soon. This might as well be the longest strike ASUU would ever record because;

A NON-CONCERNED GOVERNMENT 

Not until now are we convinced that our government does not care about the educational sector of the Nation, else what government would allow her students that is a population of millions of Nigerians to sit at home against their wish and not take any reasonable action to send them back to school? 

The work force of every nation is her youth then if these youths are not prepared and equipped for work how can the nation’s capital grow?

That is why we have a large youthful population and still low on productivity because they are not empowered to produce rather they are tied up by factors that should not even be a problem in the first place if we had a working system. 

When the people who do not care about you are the ones in positions to make decisions that affects your life there is already a problem. So, until the government is concerned about the life of students, the compulsory holiday continues.

BLOATED EGO OF THE UNION

It is an old saying that two captains cannot be in the same ship, so while we put all the blame on the Federal Government, we should not forget that ASUU also has the power to call off the strike and call students back to school if the union so desire. 

This is now a question of priorities. Of what is more important. If the union say they are fighting for the best interest of students then by now they should have called them back seeing that the Government is not ready to meet their demands but no, their ego excessive ego would not permit them to see that students are tired and already suffocating that they need instant rescue else they might also lose faith in them and the whole system will fail completely, because whether they know it or not it is Nigerian students who make ASUU a relevant union.

NOBODY IS TALKING

Our notable Nigerians have their children schooling outside the country and are very certain that in the next 3-4 years they would be graduates already.

 It is such a shame that foreigners cannot rely on our universities like we do in theirs and this yearly strike is part of it. You cannot gain admission into our schools and be certain that you would graduate in the next 3-4 years infact you should have it in mind that you might sit at home for 3-4 years owing to strike.

And this is because nobody is talking about it. The voices that matter are silent and the voices that are talking is swallowed in the silence of those who are supposed to be talking.

STUDENTS ARE TIRED

It is true that the students have a population that can mount pressure on the government and influence their decision-making process but it is also true that students are tired of being the ones suffering each time ASUU and FG do not agree. Now someone might say what have they done that they are tired but we all know that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled on. 

When you get trampled on constantly, you cannot escape the devastating effects that follows. You cannot put people in a condition where what they do not matter and expect them to do everything.

GOVERNMENT CANNOT MEET THE UNION DEMANDS

ASUU is demanding the total implementation of the 2009 MOU, implementation of their own payment system UTAS that is excluding ASUU from IPPIS, which is already on ground. And the payment of all outstanding wages on ground before resumption which would amount to trillions of naira which the Government cannot release at the moment.

BOTH FG AND ASUU IS DETERMINED

The two parties involved wants a favorable deal for themselves. The Government is not willing to accredit UTAS which they believe is not transparent enough and ASUU on the other hand is saying enough is enough, sounding determined to get what they want from the government or schools remain shut down. Meetings would go on for a long time before both parties can see eye-to-eye.

What is happening? This question could be answered in different ways depending on who is answering and where they are looking at. A priest would say it is endtime. A feminist would say it is women finally realising their worth and standing up for themselves, a man in his late 70’s would say that today’s generation are morally bankrupt and culture they have recklessly abandoned.

A lot of things we see and hear today has forced us into a place where we do not trust anybody and we do not want to draw undue attention to ourselves by saying something, we are so into minding our business that we no longer see that a smoke from our neighbour’s roof could mean fire bringing down our own houses too.

 We cannot pretend that we do not see that ritual killings are going on rampage and the victims of such killings are not old people but young girls especially. We cannot turn a blind eye because youths are the greatest gift of every nation and a nation losing her youth is losing her strength.

 More sadly is the fact that the perpetuators of this wickedness are also youths, our young man. Is this the desire for money or self-destruct?

You might be asking how does broken marriages and relationships connects with ritual killings. They are all born of the same mother, irresponsibility. We are lacking the zeal to carry on tasks patiently to successful conclusions. 

When we walk into a hall or room, etc first thing we do is look around for the convenience and then the exit door or route before we feel relaxed, it is agonising that we take this same mindset into our relationships.

 As soon as we are getting into a new relationship, we are already checking for the convenience and the exit, we are sizing our chances to see how we can live without this person by our side instead of taking chances to make sure we live with this person by our side. That is why we cannot establish anything, that is why our young men do not have the capacity to build anything from scratch because nobody wants to give so much. 

We forget that for anything to last long, it needs time to develop it's roots, maize and coconut cannot grow at thesame time frame, coconut takes longer time but we see that many time coconut trees outlive the people who plant them. 

What kind of seed are you planting? You'll have to make up your mind then fold up your sleeves to do the work. The way a farm cultivate coconut is not thesame way he cultivate maize.

That it is easy doesn't mean it is lasting and that it isn't easy doesn't mean your efforts are wasted. That is why you cannot measure your progress with that of another. That is why you must not compare your progress with another, because you do not know what seed they sow that they are already in harvest while you're still clearing weed.

Nobody wants to commit time and energy to nurture seed to become trees, we just want the sail without the wind, that is why it is not working.

Be it a business, a relationship or academic, you need to commit to it, make a vision out of it see it in the next 5years and get your strategy right. Progress is not slow because it roots runs deep into time. Invest, build and create that life.